The silver harp fits sleek into my hands. I carry it with as much confidence I can muster. After all, a whole crowd is watching.

I don't know how my battle against the hog king made the headlines. Somehow, more than a hundred people have shown up to watch me either fail or succeed. We're gathered in the desert next to Star Town. Cody has led me to a flat part surrounded by tumbleweeds. Apparently, this is where the boss is supposed to spawn.

The deadly sun rays assault me. A sweat breaks out on my skin. Apparently, this game can make your body feel like you're actually in the elements. On the sidelines, Aileen shakes her fists at me, pushing me on with an encouraging smile. Oh gosh, so my best friend might watch me eat dirt from the hog king too.

Everywhere I look, orange dirt and clay stretch from left to right. In the very far distance, Star Town sits like an oasis. I wish I were in that town right now, enjoying a virtual coffee in the cafe. Now, I could be the subject of a hundred people's fodder for a funny story.

"Chickening out?" Cody asks. He's standing with Nathan, Mags, and Olivia. Next to them are a few other members of Mysteriously. I don't know their names yet.

I put on my bravest face. "No way. I'm ready to crush the hog king under my feet."

An amused smile plays on Nathan's lips. Next to him, Cody scowls. "You're going to regret taking this challenge. This time, luck won't be on your side."

"Give me a break, Cody." Mags joins Aileen by cheering, "You got this, Josiah!"

I wait. And wait some more. Is the hog king running late? He should spawn every hour or so, and there's no other hunters here. As I wait, my harp weighs me down. I don't think I can last another few minutes waiting in this heat.

A thunderous roar shakes the ground, piercing my eardrums. I jump back as the dust swirls in front of me. When the dust clears, a monstrous beast stands in its place.

Hog King.

I may be level thirty now, thanks to copious amounts of training. But nothing could've prepared me for seeing this beast in person. At least ten feet tall. It resembles a hog in its facial features, but everything else is vastly different. It's much more muscular, for one thing, and an iron armor covers the majority of its body. Its fur looks prickly enough to break skin.

"Go ahead!" Cody says, taunting me.

Nathan's voice somehow pierces through the crowd even after the chatter begins. "Stay calm, Josiah."

Stay calm? I feel like I'm going to shit my pants.

No matter, when the hog king starts running in my direction, I have to act. "Trap," I say, laying a spiderweb on the ground. I dart out of the way so that I don't get trampled. Even though my trap is small, one of the hog's hooves gets caught in it. It tries to wiggle its way free, letting out a terrible roar.

My mind takes me back to Maria James, to when she taught me my three new skills. Here goes nothing. "Strings," I say.

I feel my harp grow heavier. It's like the strings have been fortified with metal. With one swoop, I bring my weapon down against the hog's hide—in the small spot where the armor doesn't quite cover.

Hog King. HP: 95%

Only five percent damage? You can't be serious.

The hog king cries out, wiggling with as much force it can muster. Its hoof breaks free from my trap. When it comes loose, it turns around and faces me with darkness swirling in its eyes. I'm about to die.

The hog king swerves around and smacks me with its snout. I go flying. My vision spins, alternating between the dirt and sky. I hit the ground straight on my back. Air suctions out from my lungs. I feel like I've been punched lightly, but the discomfort still alarms me. I'm just thankful the game's developers didn't choose to have pain be completely realistic.

Josiah. HP: 80%

On my back, I go through several options. One option—I could log out right now. These people don't know where I live. I won't have to stick around to face the embarrassment of losing. Later on, I can make the excuse that my Internet cut out.

My other option—ask the crowd for help. Surely there are people out there who would want to give me a hand. I could make it seem like I don't actually need help, I just want people not to feel left out. But that's ridiculous and hard to pull off.

My only other option is to keep fighting. I have to suck it up, put on a brave face, and brandish this harp. I take this option because I can imagine Cody Bright taunting me with his mouth twisted in cruel victory. I can't let him think that I'm weak.

I stand up, barely leaping out of the way as the hog stampedes in my direction. I set down another trap. This time, the hog's smart enough to avoid it.

"Uproar," I say, then I let out a screech that will hopefully be registered. The crowd lets out a nervous laugh. Have they never seen a bard fight before?

The hog doesn't seem very affected. It does stand in place for a few seconds, but then it breaks free, as good as new. It raises its snout, more outraged than before. It grinds its hooves against the floor, upturning clouds of dust. I feel like I'm about to see stars again.

"Serenade," I say. And to my utter embarrassment, I launch into one of Orianna Jewel's songs. A ballad.

The crowd mixes with "ooing" and laughter. I focus all my attention on the hog king—can't let the onlookers distract me, no matter how much their presence bothers me.

The hog's slightly affected by my song, tensing up like my voice is cacophony to its ears.

Hog King. HP: 91%

Great. I'm almost one tenth done with this hog, and victory is a bit closer than before... I hope.

The hog rears up on its hind legs. It charges me. This time, I'm not fast enough. Its left hoof clips me. I fall against the ground, groaning at the impact. I don't think I'll ever get used to being clobbered by a monster in Starlia.

Josiah. HP: 58%

I stand up before I become completely trampled. I barely dodge the hog as it comes charging again. I'm breathing heavily now, and it feels like I've run a mile. The crowd shouts even louder than before, and it's horribly hard to focus. More and more, I'm beginning to regret Cody's challenge.

Then I take a look at the members of Mysteriously. And Aileen on the side, screaming encouragements. I can't let them down.

"Play," I say, running my hands across my harp's strings.

The hog squeals in protest. Hog King. HP: 89%

I use play several more times. Each time the skill only takes a fraction of the hog king's health. Still, it's something.

Hog King. HP: 83%

I'm getting somewhere! Back when I was a kid, my father used to love playing this one virtual reality game with me called Sky Arrow. It was much less advanced than this one. The main goal was to shoot arrows at a dragon in the sky. If you weren't fast enough, you'd be obliterated by the dragon's flames. The game's graphics were much less advanced than Starlia's, and the game would sometimes freeze from using too much power from the VRS. Still, it was my favorite thing to see my father face a dragon with nothing more than a bow and arrow. I miss him more than ever. If he were here now, cheering me on next to Aileen, I'm sure I'd have enough strength to defeat this boss. Right now, I just have to imagine that he's here.

"Sing," I say, singing one note supported by my diaphragm. I'm really getting the hang of this bard thing. Even if I died today, I'd still say that I made myself proud. Level thirty in less than a few weeks? Insanity.

The hog king's mostly unaffected. Its eyes do roll around a bit drowsily, but it returns to normal in an instant. I guess sing is too weak to affect something so large and strong as the hog king.

83% more. What else can I do? I feel exhausted already, and this boss is close to killing me. A few more charges and I'm done for.

Then, an idea strikes. I have no idea whether it will work, but I'm running out of options here. I think back to mathematics class, trying to calculate angles and distance with my naked eye. As the hog regards me with anger between its brows, I act quickly,

"Trap. Trap. Trap. Trap." I set down four spiderwebs in a rectangular position. Then, I move far away, skirting around. "Come at me, hog king!" I yell and smack its armored hind with my harp.

It squeals, turning around to charge at me. I entertain it by running around in a circle, then I jump across my four traps, hoping that the hog king isn't smart enough to avoid my trickery.

All four of the hog's hooves are caught in my trap. It struggles to break free, but this time it's held to the ground with four times the strength. I'm completely ecstatic. I let out a whoop of joy, thankful to God that my plan worked.

I'll write this one down in my journal as something to thank Him for.

I have to act quickly, so there's no time to lose even though the crowd wilds out, and I'd love to see their reactions to my idea. I brandish my weapon. "Strings!" I bring my harp above my head and strike multiple times against the hog's hind. The boss still tries to break free, but the traps are too strong when four are used at once. I want to say that I got lucky, but I'm certain that there's some skill involved here.

After multiple rounds of strings, the hog king is low.

Hog King. HP: 15%

The hog king breaks free. It comes out from the traps with such force that I'm taken back by a rush of wind. It rears back and smacks me with its belly.

I roll on the ground, like a ball in a game of soccer. I groan.

Josiah. HP: 31%

I stand up, noticing that the hog's getting wild. It's probably an effect of being low on HP. A slight red tinges its skin, like it got sunburnt under the desert's heat. But I know better. That's its blood rushing in an angry flow.

"Serenade," I say. I sing another song, this one an oldie by the Beatles. My mother and father used to play their records when we went driving. When the heat stayed back long enough that we could take road trips.

Hog King. HP: 11%

Only a little bit more to go! I brace myself when the hog comes running my way. I don't move until the last moment, right before I'm about to be trampled. I leap up as high as I can, grabbing the hog by its neck. I hoist myself onto the beast and straddle it from its back. I bring my harp down against the exposed part—where fur sticks out.

I feel a bit motion sick, like I'm riding a rollercoaster. I ignore the temptation to hurl and give a shout of "Strings!" Three smacks later, the hog is done for.

Congratulations! You've defeated the hog king. 10000 gold earned.

I stand next to the hog king as it disappears into the wind as fine, sparkling dust. The crowd cheers, calling my name. Someone sounds like they're dying from shock. I breathe heavily, trying to center myself. But congratulations are in order, and there's a large smile on my face.

The first person I seek out isn't Cody. It's not even Aileen. It's Nathan Lum who I look to first. He gives me a giant thumbs up, beaming. And I couldn't be more proud of myself.

The hog king won't be the last boss you'll be seeing, that's for sure! 

How is your month going? I am doing a bit of traveling and am enjoying myself. Do you have any traditions that you do around this time?